I seem to be rushing though this year, no sooner is one season ending that I'm diving headlong into the next. Wasn't I just saying how much I wanted to put the summer behind me and now I'm chomping at the bit for the first snow and putting up decorations? Sheesh!
The two mini feasts I had during the fall have got me all excited for hosting more over the holidays.
This was mini feast number two, an Armistice Day Tea with Miss H, an obscene amount of food for just two ladies but we put up a good fight. Next up, Naria marathon! Need to go find some Turkish delight and to ponder weather or not sardines on toast is a good or a very very bad idea...
Of course I really shouldn't be thinking of food at all considering all the eating I did on Thanksgiving...but I am...duh.
My family's Thanksgiving menu has been almost the exact same for ages: turkey, gravy and stuffing, Mrs. Baker's cranberry sauce, peas and pearl onions in white sauce, mashed white and sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie to finish. There's usually a minor debate over if we really need both potatoes which is usually a draw and they both appear on the table anyways. Though we did shake it up a bit this year by trying a recipe from my paternal Grandmother, Sweet Potato a la Sandin, which no one had ever eaten before despite thee of us being Sandins by birth.
It was good, a bit sweeter than sweet potatoes need to be as they are delicious on their own, but a nice new thing to eat anyways. Though I have to admit I was completely lazy and my total contribution to the meal was mixing the ingredients for the sweet potatoes (but not the topping) before wandering off to do something else. Which may explain why today I not only made a breakfast that wasn't toast and tea, but an onion tart for dinner too! Not making food for myself for five days apparently makes me twitchy.
That last one, the tart, was remarkably delicious since it was made with random pantry things as I didn't manage to get to the grocery store today. Possibly because it is impossible to do much of anything after you eat an entire plate of pancakes by yourself. Delicious, and I'll be making them again, but definitely not a breakfast for champions.
Anyways, I had a lovely trip home and am already looking forward to my longer stay in December. Especially as it means spending more time with this little man!
Wee Jack!!
Miss Linda and I got to meet him my first day in town, and I later got to spend a delightful afternoon with him and his Mom, the lovely Lizbeth, where we laughed at his hiccups, his funny trick of throwing himself about when you try to burp him, and almost swooning when he fell asleep in my arms. And it all felt as if it was the most natural thing in the world!
(photo added 11/26 as was too precious to wait until next post!!)
Okay maybe not the burping part, I totally had an "oh my god wtf am I doing?!?" moment when he was squirming all over the place and I was supposed to be doing something maternal and useful but kept giggling instead. But the rest of it, taking turns rocking him while the other ate their lunch etc, was weirdly normal. Though deep down the Me who ran track with her in middle school is probably freaking the fuck out.
The rest of my visit was good too: saw the new James Bond with the family (thank you Mr. Mendes, thank you), paid money to have a bit of fried egg thrown at me by a Japanese chef, was informed by an insurance agent friend of mine that Armageddon would fall under "An Act of Nature" but damage from war or a nuclear fallout is not covered, had a lovely chat with a chihuahua and his people, learned that badgers may be much larger than I thought, heard a light first snow hitting the dry leaves in the trees behind the house, salivated over southern tunes with Dr. Karl, and clambered through the woods with Miss Linda.
On the bus ride home I kept thinking back to my last trip to Ohio back in October, when I was still a little shaky on my feet. Trying to figure out who I was, and what I was going to do if I couldn't make a living through it. I'm still holding my breath a little, but so far it looks like I may be able to continue living my life as a craftsman. And more importantly I've stumbled into a place that respects me as such, and will allow me to stretch my wings and grow. So when a friend referenced 'Simple Gifts' in their Thanksgiving status, I couldn't help but smile since watching a documentary of the Shakers a few months ago helped me cement who I felt I was. This year, and ever, I'm thankful for the simple things: my family, my friends, my job, my apartment, my city.
Joseph Brackett (1797-1882)
Shaker dancing song
Shaker dancing song
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.
'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,
'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,
And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,
Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,
'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.
'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be fair,
'Tis a gift to wake and breathe the morning air.
And each day we walk on the path that we choose,
'Tis a gift we pray we never shall lose.
No comments:
Post a Comment